Category Archives: foreclosure

Are the Courts Open?

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As Oklahoma is in the process of reopening after the Caronavirus shut down, it is a reasonable question to ask if the Courts are open.  The answer is — well, that depends?  Which courts and what do you mean by open?

The Federal Court system, which includes the Bankruptcy Courts, has had a paperless filing system in place since 2006.  That means that as a practical matter, the Courthouse no longer accepts paper, and filing by computer doesn’t violate social distancing, so filings have gone on as usual — well, sort of.  I am now reviewing and signing documents by remote using videoconferencing and electronic signatures, but actually filing the documents is the same as it was six months ago.

The Federal system has also moved to allow for telephonic hearings, and it has postponed jury trials and large evidentiary hearings.

The State system, however, is not so simple.  The State courthouses have been closed to the public for more than a month.  Filing of pleadings in existing cases and of new cases continues — by mail, email or fax.  In civil matters, the only hearings being conducted are emergency matters.

All of that is in the process of changing, but every County is proceeding according to its own rules and its own schedule.

What my clients want to know is can they still be sued, what happens if they have a pending answer date, when can a house in foreclosure be set for Sheriff’s Sale?

Those answers aren’t easy, but in most cases court clerk’s offices have been accepting new lawsuits for filing.  However, answer dates have been extended by order of the Supreme Court.  Sheriff’s sales have not been happening, but I am seeing them being reset.  Cleveland County has one set in early June, for instance.  So, if you have had a house in foreclosure, it is worth it to keep an eye on your mail, the court’s online docket and your County Sheriff’s Sale list.

Elaine

Keep in Touch with your Lawyer!

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It is even more important than usual during Coronavirus days to keep in touch with your lawyer — even if all businesses in your area are closed.  Sure, it is always important for all kinds of mundane reasons, like a change of address; but now those worries that are keeping you awake at night?  Call or email your lawyer.  You never know what tricks your lawyer may have stuck up a sleeve, and even if all businesses are closed, lawyers are pretty good about keeping an eye on email.  You might also call the office number.  It might be answered, and it might have a recording giving you information on how to get in touch.

First of all, your lawyer should be keeping a close eye on the various Coronavirus relief bills passing through Congress.  Second, your lawyer should have copies of the actual administrative orders from your Mayor or your Governor closing businesses, etc.  Your lawyer can tell you if they apply to you and how they are or can be enforced.  Your lawyer should also have a feel for employment law issues that may be effecting you, whether you are being told to work or not to work.

A bankruptcy lawyer can also help you with deciding which bills to pay and which not to when money gets really tight.

If you are in a bankruptcy, your lawyer can help you with issues like the reach of the automatic stay and the discharge injunction — that includes helping you shut down the phone calls if some creditor decides bankruptcy doesn’t really apply to them.  If you are in a Chapter 13 plan your lawyer can explain to you what remedies are available to you if you can’t make your plan payments or you need to change your plan terms.

Your  lawyer can also explain to you what court activity is ongoing in your area — are Sheriff’s sales still being held, are foreclosure cases being filed and heard, what about garnishments and collection cases?

Do not just sit at home and make yourself sick with worry.  Lawyers are trained problem solvers.  Sure, we can’t solve all of them, but we can try.

Elaine

What Will I Have to Pay in a Chapter 13?

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A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is basically a modified payment plan where you can restructure certain kinds of secured debt, get current on secured debt on which you have fallen behind (like a house or a car) and pay some percentage of your general, unsecured debt (like medical bills and credit cards).

Let me begin by saying that SOME percentage of your unsecured debt means just that – SOME. I say that to clients in my office, and they almost universally translate the word some to mean all. They are not synonyms. The actual percentage paid by most Chapter 13 debtors is closer to zero percent than it is to 100%, and most of us can afford to pay 0%.

So, what does that actually mean?

There are two primary factors that determine how much money you will have to pay to make a Chapter 13 plan work. The first is determined by what is generally known as the Means Test. The Means Test is basically a worksheet where you start with your income and deduct your reasonable and necessary living expenses until you come up with an amount left over. If that figure is positive, then you will have to pay that amount each month for probably 60 months to your general unsecured creditors (the credit cards, medical bills, personal loans, that kind of debt). In other words, if you have $112 a month left over, you will have to pay $112 each month for (probably) 60 months plus 10% as a trustee fee, so $123 a month, over the life of your plan for the benefit of the general unsecured creditors. Most of my clients are paying a lot more than that on this kind of debt when they come to see me. So, for most people flunking the Means Test and having to pay something to their general, unsecured creditors is actually an improvement!

The other factor is the kind of debt that you have. If you want to keep the house and the car and you owe money on them, you are going to have to keep paying for them. This really shouldn’t be a surprise. The car, in the Western District of Oklahoma, will have to be paid through the plan; meaning that the plan payment you pay to the Trustee every month will include enough for him to make your car payment for you. If you are behind on the car at the time that you file the case, you can expect that you will catch up on it (and probably pay it off) over the life of the Chapter 13 plan.

Your house is a little different. If you are current on the house at the time that you file for bankruptcy (in this district), you may continue to pay the mortgage payment directly. However, that means completely current. So, if your mortgage payment is due on the first, and late on the 15th, That means it is due on the 1st. So, if you file bankruptcy on the 2nd, that payment had better already have been made. If you are behind on your mortgage payment, then it will be paid through the plan and the plan will include enough money to get you caught up an d current on it over the life of the plan.

If you owe other secured debt, debt that is secured by a lien on a specific piece of property, and you wish to keep the property, then that debt will have to be paid during the life of the plan. Debts that are given certain priority for payment in the Bankruptcy Code must be paid in full over the life of the plan. For most people that means recent taxes, and past due child support or alimony, these are things that have to be paid over the life of the plan. What most people expect to see listed here but isn’t is student loans. Student loans are a whole different problem in a Chapter 13 that will be addressed separately.

So, what this means is that most Chapter 13 plans pay for the house, the cars, the taxes, the child support (if any), fees to support the Trustee’s office and the Debtor’s attorneys fees. Then, there will be some amount added to be shared amongst the general, unsecured creditors who are usually everybody else. That amount is determined by the Means Test, and in many cases it is less than my clients have been paying on that debt before they filed.

Now, I don’t mean to kid you. A Chapter 13 plan is not a walk in the park. There are good reasons why only about 30% of all cases filed successfully complete. It isn’t, however, nearly as bad as clients expect it to be.

Often when clients come to see me their mortgage company is wanting a year of missed payments made up in six months or less. They are facing a wage garnishment that will take 25% of their gross income. The IRS is threatening to levy on their bank accounts. There is a repo guy out looking for their car, and the lender wants all the missed payments plus late fees, plus interest plus the repo guy’s fees by Tuesday. A Chapter 13 plan, even if it is expensive, can be a huge relief after the financial pressures most of my clients find themselves facing.

So don’t be afraid to investigate a possible Chapter 13 filing. It can do things for you that you can’t get done anywhere else, and, although, it won’t be cheap, it may be more affordable than any of your other options.

Elaine

Old Debt, Foreclosed Home, 1099 in the Mail — Oh NO!

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Once upon a time the start of tax season was heralded by would-be clients who had been to see me sometimes months earlier calling very excited, because they finally have the money to file.  Then, there are the Trustees wanting a share of tax refunds that accrued to debtors prior to the filing of their bankruptcies — those calls are less fun.

Recently, though, tax season has started a bit earlier — in January and early February.  Former clients are calling scared, because they have just gotten a 1099 in the mail for some HUGE amount of money that they thought they had discharged in their Bankruptcy — and they are right.

Any time a creditor “forgives” debt, which is a very broad term and doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with whether or not they still intend to collect it or the Debtor still owes it, the creditor is required to send a 1099 for the amount of the forgiven debt to the Debtor and the IRS.  The IRS is then going to assume (unless told to the contrary) that this amount is to be included in the debtor’s gross income for that taxable year.

Breathe.  I promise, it isn’t nearly this bad.  Go back and read that “unless told to the contrary” part again.  If you have filed for Bankruptcy and discharged your personal liability for debt, it does not have to be included in your taxable income.  There is an IRS form 982 that will solve this problem for you.  Form 982 deals with 1099’s if the debt has been discharged in Bankruptcy or if the Debtor was insolvent at the time the debt was forgiven.  The insolvency exception is considerably more difficult and more treacherous.  The Bankruptcy (Title 11) provision is much more straight forward.

There are different rules if the forgiveness of debt involved your homestead, and the property was foreclosed or the subject of a short sale; but the 1099 may still qualify to be excepted from your taxable income.  In that event, I suggest you talk to a competent CPA.   Likewise, if you have any questions regarding the application or use of Form 982, a CPA is the person to call.

Where those 1099’s can be a real issue is if you did some type of debt management plan where you paid less than 100% of your debt.  If it was a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy, Form 982 may still apply.  Otherwise, you might have a real problem; and you cannot call a CPA for help too soon.  I hate getting calls from people who tried to do the right thing, tried to pay their debt; and then after years of scrimping and suffering find out after the fact that they now owe tax on the total amount (including interest) that they didn’t pay.  A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy would likely have been cheaper, more effective and actually gotten them out of debt instead of into tax debt.

So happy tax refunds, and do not pay tax on discharged debt unnecessarily!

Elaine

Bankruptcy, the Fiscal Cliff and Tax Refunds

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Evidently, we have a deal on the fiscal cliff — well, sort of.  We have a deal for two months, and then all bets are off.  So, I’m not completely sure that what I have read so far accurately describes the contents of this deal (so double-check my facts before relying on them, please); but even better, anything that does (or doesn’t) change today might in 60 days or so.  I’m sorry, but Congress needs to grow up.

What does this have to do with Bankruptcy and Tax Refunds?  Well, first of all, it appears that the tax exemption for forgiveness of debt income on a principal residence has been extended for a year — or at least until March.  So, if your primary reason for filing for bankruptcy was to avoid tax consequences from a foreclosure or short sale; now, you may not need to.  The emphasis there is on MAY.  Do pay the relatively trivial amount of money to check this with a qualified tax expert — which I am not, and this tax exemption is deceptively complicated.

Now, for the bad news, your pay check will get smaller.  Tax withholding rates are going up 2%.  Most people who file for Bankruptcy have been living pay check to pay check  for many months.  A 2% withholding hit can make all the difference in the world between keeping the heat on and not.  Of course, the problem is that filing for bankruptcy isn’t cheap; and if you are living close to the edge, you probably don’t have the cash laid by for attorneys fees and filing fees.  So, before you spend your 2012 tax refund getting current on bills (like credit cards) and then realizing that you’ve blown your refund and still owe more than you can pay; consider whether you will be better served using that money to pay for a bankruptcy filing.

Every year people call me in late April or May who got back several thousand dollars in March or early April.  They spent that getting current on a bunch of debt and then realize a month later, that their balances aren’t going down and their income isn’t going up.  If your tax refund is enough to get you out of trouble, enough that you won’t need to file, enough that you will then be in a position to take care of yourself and your kids instead of Chase and Discover; then, by all means, use it to pay the bills — but do the math first.  Then, take a look at your retirement accounts and your kids’ college funds.  J.P. Morgan Chase made record profits in the 3rd quarter of 2012.  Did you?

Elaine

Bankruptcy and the Holidays

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Every year I expect for my phone to stop ringing right before Thanksgiving and not to start up again until after the first of the year.  After all, who wants to think about filing for Bankruptcy during the holidays?  Even better, who wants to come up with cash for attorneys fees in December?

Then, the phone rings; and it rings again.  Sure enough, the Oklahoma County Sheriff’s office scheduled Sheriff’s Sales for December 13.  Thanks, Sheriff!  “What?  Love, Beal and Nixon is about to garnish your wages and right before Christmas?  Really? ”  Thanks, guys!

The sad thing is that these phone calls don’t have to happen in December.  That foreclosure going to Sheriff’s Sale December 13?  It was filed early this year, and the home owner was missing payments before that.  The garnishment that will be coming out of the December 15th pay period?  Well, that lawsuit was filed last summer.

If those two callers had called earlier this year, they might have had more options.  They would have had more time to get some money together.  They wouldn’t have needed to add a Bankruptcy filing to their holiday to-do list.  Is it too late?  No.  In a very real sense will you more fully appreciate the Christmas story with a December Bankruptcy filing?  Well, quite possibly; but it really isn’t the kind of religious experience I recommend.

So, for this coming year — call earlier, because come December of next year, you won’t want to be having to find time and money for me when you could be enjoying the season of grace and expectation, of unconditional love and acceptance; instead of the automatic stay.

See you in January.

Elaine

Mortgage Overcharges and Consumer Protection

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Recently, Bank of America agreed to a staggering settlement for mortgage fees improperly charged by Countrywide prior to the BOA takeover.  Henry Sommer, one of the Country’s leading Bankruptcy lawyers, scholars and consumer activists has posted some thoughts about that settlement on Credit Slips.  It is well worth reading.

Elaine

Mortgage Servicing — Thou Shall’t Not Lie, Cheat or Steal

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USA Today is reporting that Bank of America, as the purchaser of Countrywide, is paying $108 Million in penalty to the Federal Trade Commission (to be distributed amongst the effected parties).  The FTC discovered that Countrywide was charging excessive fees to home owners who were facing foreclosure.  These fees were for things like property inspections and landscaping (I assume that means mowing).  What Countrywide was doing was creating wholly owned subsidiaries to arrange for the services and then bill the accounts at an inflated price.

At the very bottom the article also mentions that Countrywide has been known to misrepresent the nature, and amounts due on loans, it looks like they may have discovered some false Bankruptcy claims and concealed fees.  This should be shocking.  It isn’t.  I sued Countrywide for its bankruptcy related accounting practices a few years ago.  What is more disturbing is that these practices, or variants on them, are widespread throughout the industry.

We don’t let debtors lie, cheat or steal in Bankruptcy.  It is high time we stopped letting creditors do it.

Elaine

Foreclosure Records

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USA Today ran an article on foreclosure statistics. It seems that we have recently set two records.  The first is that for the first time ever 10% of all home owners (according to the article) missed a mortgage payment during a quarter.  The second is that now some 4.6% of all home owners are in foreclosure.  Gee, two records, one article.

What I find difficult to believe about this is that it says both of these percentages are of all home owners — not all home owners with mortgages.  I would believe those numbers if they are all home owners with mortgages, but considering the number of paid for properties around, it would be seriously staggering if those numbers are actually true.

Elaine

Mortgage Mods and Foreclosures

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A man called me this morning who had just been served with a foreclosure Petition.  He says that he has a mortgage modification agreement negotiated with Wells Fargo.  So, they sued him anyway.  Frankly, he may be right — and he may not be.  He wanted to know what he should do about filing an answer to the foreclosure.  I told him that the first thing he needed to do was send a letter to his Congressmen.  He didn’t know who they were.

I did explain to him how to file an Answer and told him twice that he needed to file it with the Court, and that meant take it to the Court Clerk’s office and then send a copy to the foreclosure attorneys.

Still, is it any wonder that we get the legislative responses that we do out of Washington when the people who call my office don’t even know who their Congressional representatives are?

Elaine